A Bedfordshire Book Mark

Over the last ten years I have been working on and off through one of my Bedfordshire lace making books. This is design number 6B in the book, a little book mark featuring  flowers made of six tallies, and six pair crossings.

Note that this is design 6B. Two years ago I finished this handkerchief which was design 5 in the book. Personally I think these two designs should have been swapped. The book mark should have been Design 5, and the handkerchief edge should have been design 6. Surely it would be better to practice those flowers in something small like a book mark before tackling an edge. Just my opinion.

Anyway, my little book mark is finally finished. I have practiced those little flowers again, and I still need more practice! This time though I played with some different thread. The cloth stitch border is a King Tut variegated quilting thread, while the flowers are a combination of the king Tut thread and a Mettler Silk finish 100% cotton No 50. I thought the two together may have been too thick, and it is a bit, but its a book mark, so its OK. It was an experiment, so now I know what will happen when I go to do something like this again. It will be a useful tip to know to bring in some creativity into my lace.

Now onto design number seven, a little simpler I think, but time will tell. Watch this space!